Kara Bettis Carvalho

I really appreciate @CTmagazine posting their AI usage policy for writers, with clears set of "may" and "may not", emphasizing the human roles. @christianitytoday/note/c-240780046" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">substack.com/@christianityt…

@MikeCosper Appreciated the way you have given to and shaped CT, Mike! Wishing you the best and will be keeping an eye out for your future endeavors!

Since a number of you have asked (and CT has announced it), it is indeed true that I've parted ways with Christianity Today. I wish all of them the best as they continue their work. I am still determining what comes next for me, so I covet your prayers and good will.

Alright, you got me, I’m tuning in I really appreciated @KSPrior’s CT essay on living a fruitful life, including when God doesn’t give the gift of kids. Likewise, @karabettis wrote an excellent review of root cause care for infertility. We need more of this from evangelicals

The March/April issue of Christianity Today is here! 🌷✨ With writing from @KSPrior, @katherinejlucky, @KristyNEWS, @karabettis, @Jenpmichel, @byrdinator, @bonniekristian, @drmoore, @AndyROlsen, @masayett, @aahales, and others. christianitytoday.com/magazine/2026/…

Protestants are waking up. Great article from @karabettis on #IVF. Comprehensive, beautifully written, biblically faithful, and grounded in the ontology that God (not clinicians) opens and closes the womb. christianitytoday.com/2026/03/evange…

Marvin Olasky's Declaration of Principles for @CTmagazine christianitytoday.com/2026/01/christ…

By using AI for writing, you’re robbing yourself of the authentic writer’s experience of not writing

The ESV has fully updated Gen. 3:16. This is good!!! 😍

@matthew_loftus Congratulations! Well-deserved.

Some news: ttf.org/gerson-prize/

@RonniKurtz The best

Not a trip to Boston without a quick stop at the ever-wonderful Brattle Bookshop.

The Christianity Today Board of Directors has unanimously elected Dr. Nicole Massie Martin as its next President and CEO. Read more: chrst.today/4o2yRKE

@TrevinWax I’ve been trying to get someone to write the “this should have been an article” take for a while

I’ve been told by many an aspiring author they’ve got a book brewing inside them. More often than not, they’ve got a chapter. Or a blog post. Sometimes it’s other people who’ve told them they should write a book. Someone has given them a great book idea. Still, this doesn’t mean there’s a book there. Maybe that’s you. There’s something about the idea or practice of writing that’s appealing. You wonder if you’ve got something to say, maybe a book to write or an article that shares an insight you’ve not seen elsewhere. How do you know if you should write? I’ve been in these conversations many times. When I sit down with writers, I either put on my publishing hat or my author hat. Sometimes, I switch between the two, having been on both sides of the conversation. I try to help them understand what goes into the writing process so they can uncover whether their idea would make sense as a book or perhaps as a good column, essay, or blog post. 1. Writing Starts with Reading If you want to write and publish a book, you need to realize you’re entering a new world. That world must begin with a terrific proposal. And a proposal begins with other books. Writing starts with reading. If you’re going to write well, you have to read, a lot. Samuel Johnson said, “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” Once you read up on a topic of interest, you may start to see the outline of a book coming together. It’s not enough to see it in your mind though—you’ve got to see it mapped out in a proposal. And this is where you discover if you have enough content to fill a book. For many, the book idea goes away at the proposal development stage. You find you’re not ready to write a book yet. But don’t fret. The growth you’ve experienced—the capacity you’ve cultivated in working on a proposal—isn’t wasted. Keep reading. Keep thinking. 2. The Platform Question Most people I talk to aren’t interested in writing a book for their own sake. They want to write a book people want to read. The problem is, people are highly unlikely to pick up a book from someone they don’t know, someone without a track record. That’s why, especially these days, most writers have to go through the hard work of building a platform or establishing credibility before entering into a publishing agreement. Like it or not, publishers look for a platform or for credibility for an in-demand topic. This can be the most discouraging aspect for a first-time writer, but it’s also where developing a rhythm of writing can make a difference. If you engage the habit of writing and start publishing your work to a blog or on social media, it’s possible you’ll serve a small audience. You may make connections with other writers or perhaps branch out to other online platforms. Your motivation, however, has to be service to others, not getting published. 3. Get Started; Keep Going When I talk to aspiring authors, I never want to discourage them from writing. But I do want them to know what they’re getting into. I want to help them see if they have a good book idea or maybe an article instead. I also want them to understand the stamina required. When a writer asks me about starting a blog or website, or posting brief thoughts on Facebook or Instagram, I respond with the same advice: plan out your first month prior to the launch. If you want to write three times a week, remember consistency is what matters. For a blog create 9-12 posts, two or three for each week of that launch month. Create your posts and schedule them as drafts before you launch a website. For other sites, create at least 15-20 examples of what you are hoping to do, long-term. I could count on one hand the number of people who have actually gone through with this. Most find they have a couple of good articles in them, or a couple of Facebook or Instagram reflections, not the 10–12 articles a month they’d hoped for. Oftentimes, writers start out with big aspirations for a big project. They want to blog twice a week from now on. Or they want to write a book in a couple months. They come to the work like first-time runners who set their sights on running a marathon before they’ve tried running a mile or two. It’s true in writing as well: you must walk before you run. To write well, you’ll first write poorly, and you’ll write a lot. Training is required. Regular rhythms of writing matter. Let’s face it: most of the time, writing is a slog. If you don’t see great metrics on your posts, you may get discouraged. Remember this: the point of writing regularly is the discipline, not the audience. It’s what it does for you as a writer that matters over the long haul. The point isn’t to go viral (bad writing can do that) but to grow in your skill. It’s like trying to run a marathon—you can’t hit the major goal without hitting a bunch of smaller goals first. You’ll become a better writer the more you practice and try to improve your craft. 4. Leverage Your Learning Nobody sets the pace for your writing. Don’t compare yourself to the more prolific person you see over there. You’ll always find someone who writes better, or more frequently, or for more people than you do. Not everyone has to fulfill the same calling in writing frequency or length. Don’t normalize one writer’s output. Some are like Alexander Hamilton (“Why do you write like you’re running out of time?”), while others make one or two contributions and yet may still change people’s lives through what they’ve put on paper. To sum up then, if you’re an aspiring author: (1) read everything you can on the subject that interests you; (2) begin writing often, even if few are reading your work; and (3) develop a full proposal with chapter outlines, summaries, and knowledge of other books in the same field. See where your discoveries take you. Keep honing your craft and remember: writing is learning. So don’t stop.

Christians dunking on other Christians is my least favorite twitter.

@kelsey_dallas Amazing, Kelsey! Congrats!!

Some personal news that's also professional: Today is my last day at the Deseret News. Tomorrow, I start my new job as managing editor of SCOTUSblog. I feel lucky to be moving from one dream job to another, and I will miss everyone at Deseret. It's been an amazing 11 years. 🐝

@Jaime_E_Owens Almost got me until the Presbyterian part 😅

Just got out of a pretty thorny elders meeting in which we decided to move forward with a significant reform. This Sunday, at a special meeting, we will become Tremont Temple Presbyterian Church. I’ve been itching to sprinkle my 4 little ones over the last year. Soli Deo gloria!

“To state what should have been obvious, we have never received funds from USAID.” CT’s president and CEO Timothy Dalrymple on false rumors and editorial integrity: christianitytoday.com/2025/02/christ…

This week, CT covered changes made by the new Trump administration. We’ve collected some of our reporting in this thread. First: A story on the ban on federal funding of gender transitions for minors. christianitytoday.com/2025/01/trump-…

@alexsosler Congrats!

This is wild: christianitytoday.com/2024/12/christ…

@KatelynBeaty I'll be there along with a few other CT folks. Would love to see you!

I’m hiring! Looking for someone w/a heart for pastors, a penchant for proactivity, and a hand on the pulse of leadership resourcing needs. Ideal candidate will have pastoral experience with graduate-level education and serious editorial chops. More: recruiting.paylocity.com/Recruiting/Job…